


puppy dog tales

by breakaway71



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Dogs, Fluff, Gen, Introspection, Post-Season/Series 01, Reggie Deserves A Puppy, Slice of Life, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:07:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27577616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/breakaway71/pseuds/breakaway71
Summary: The puppy is a different kind of lost soul than Reggie is, but that doesn't make her any less deserving of a home and family like the one he's found.Now with bonus artwork!
Comments: 39
Kudos: 157





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I started this during election week because, well, stress requires puppies. I've been neck-deep in finishing up my JATP Bang (it's a monster, you guys), and this was also a good way to unwind from a bit of that. And, uh, prove I'm still alive, I guess? So HI HERE I AM HAVE A SMALL PILE OF FLUFF.

Reggie stares despondently at the two cookies on the table. The cookies stare tauntingly back. They're leftover from Julie and Flynn's homework session after last practice, and honestly, Reggie wishes Julie had brought them back to the house to give to Carlos. At least if Carlos ate them, they'd stop _being_ there, _tempting_ him when he can't even give into the temptation.

He really misses having a stomach. Even being solid now most of the time hasn't left them with the ability to eat.

The studio is empty, Alex off on a date that he isn't admitting is a date, and Luke holed up with Julie in the house working on some super secret song they're writing. _Technically_ Reggie is supposed to be working on his own song, or at least, that's what he told Luke he was doing, but really, he just didn't want to spend the day feeling like a third or fifth wheel. He plans to head up to the house and hang with Ray later, but right now, Ray is meeting with a client, so that's out.

Reggie is bored.

Strumming at his bass is not producing much in the way of inspiration, so when he hears the soft scratching coming from the studio doors, it's a welcome reprieve from staring at cookies he can't eat and failing to think of any good lyrics.

At first when he opens the door, he doesn't see anything. "Huh," he says, and steps out. There's a flurry of movement down on the ground, and Reggie peers around the other side of one of the big doors to see a tiny puppy cowering by the corner of the garage. His eyes widen, his heart giving a delighted little leap in his chest despite the fact that it doesn't even beat anymore.

"Awww!" he coos. Can't even help the happy sound, because _puppy!_ "What's the matter, little guy? Or…girl?" He takes a step closer, crouching down and holding out his hand.

The puppy whimpers, trying to back up further into the wall, head lowered and ears back. It looks like the chocolate lab puppy Reggie's uncle used to have, except in miniature, and with bigger floppy ears and a shorter tail. The poor thing also looks dirty, and hurt, and scared.

Reggie knows what it's like to flinch at the sight of a raised hand, to be too scared to trust any show of kindness. But Reggie also knows that eventually you have to let someone in to survive and to heal. That's what Luke and Alex were for him.

He wonders if he could be that for the trembling puppy in front of him.

"Wait right here," he says, keeping his voice soft, and then he poofs back into the studio for the cookies. He takes one, eyeing it speculatively. It's a snickerdoodle, so there's no chocolate. Surely half wouldn't hurt? He breaks it apart and goes back outside. The puppy, it seems, listened to his command. Or more likely was too scared to move.

Crouching down again, Reggie holds out a piece of cookie. When that gets nothing more than a wary glance, he places it on the ground and draws back.

Finally, the puppy inches forward, eyes darting back and forth between Reggie and the bite of cookie.

"Go for it," Reggie urges. "It's all yours."

It takes a few minutes, Reggie staying as still as he possibly can, but finally the puppy darts forward and gobbles down the cookie. Reggie puts down another piece, closer. The puppy doesn't hesitate this time, and closer, Reggie can see the limp. See the scabbed over wound on the muzzle and the cut on one ear.

"You poor thing," he murmurs, and holds out the last piece in his hand.

The puppy inches forward, nose out and sniffing at both hand and cookie, and finally licks it out of Reggie's palm, sitting back and munching happily. Slowly, cautiously, Reggie reaches out a hand, which the puppy eyes cautiously, but doesn't run away from, and he is finally allowed to make contact, petting the puppy's head and scritching gently at the ears.

Despite the puppy's need for a bath, the fur is soft and velvety, and the poor thing actually whimpers when Reggie pulls back, not wanting to overwhelm it. Reggie takes the opportunity to lean forward on his hands, ducking down to check if the puppy is a boy or a girl.

"Hey there, little girl," he says with a grin when he straightens up again. He holds his hand out once more, and now she comes closer without the enticement of food, licking at his fingers. She isn't wearing a collar, and either she ran away from an abusive master, or she was abandoned by one.

Either way, Reggie thinks, he wants to give her a new home. One where she'll get all of the pets and cuddles and love she clearly deserves. "What would I name you, if you were mine?" he wonders aloud, and her ears perk up at the sound of his voice this time, tail tentatively wagging. She takes another step forward, and another, until she's right in his lap. "Oh," he whispers, his heart doing a funny little flip in his chest. "Hi there."

She curls up and lies down, nudging her nose under his hand until he has no choice but to pet her again, laughing. "I think," he muses, "you look like a Dahlia." She doesn't appear to agree or disagree, which is agreement enough in Reggie's mind. Dahlia it is.

It definitely has nothing to do with the fact that Dahlias remind him of Julie, or with the fact that if the name makes Julie cry she and Ray are eleven times more likely to let Reggie keep the puppy. He's not _that_ diabolical.

(He is, he absolutely is, but only sometimes, only when it's really important.)

"It's nice to meet you, Dahlia," Reggie whispers, stroking the soft fur along her back now as she starts to fall asleep, a show of trust he recognizes better than he should. "I guess you're a little bit broken, but you know what? We all kind of are, here. And being broken together is better than being broken alone."

Because being broken together means healing together.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I swear, this art commission thing is _really_ uncommon for me, but Allarica was running a chibi charity drive the same day I posted this story and I _had_ to. I hope it brightens your day as much as it did mine!!

[](https://www.flickr.com/photos/%20134706723@N02/50688124273/in/dateposted-public/)  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If this story and artwork made you feel all the happy feels, consider checking out lbswasp's [Reggie Deserves a Puppy](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/lbswasp/636322665812180992) fest, which opens for submissions on December 30! Is there any better way to celebrate the end of this horrendous year than with cute puppies??


End file.
